IMPORTANT: Can I see a family doctor instead of a psychiatrist?

[aurora]

So I've had some really bad luck lately with trying to find a psychiatrist. I called my insurance company and had them give me about a dozen different phone numbers... 3 hours later I still hadn't made myself an appointment. 2 numbers were disconnected, one was just the phone number to a hospital, one doc had moved offices, one retired, one wasn't taking new patients.... One place didn't treat anyone under 18. I finally found someone who would see me as early as tomorrow if I wanted to come in, and they didn't take my insurance. Every other place I called doesn't have any psychiatrists that can see me until mid-late October.

So today, finally I found a place about 20 minutes from my house and made an appointment for next friday- except it's just a therapist even though I wanted to see a psychiatrist first.


My question for you all is, if I explained this problem to a doctor maybe after being diagnosed with anxiety by my therapist, could he write me a prescription for anxiety meds so I don't have to waste my time with a psychiatrist? I don't see the psychiatrist doing anything for me that a therapist can't other than write prescriptions so can't I just skip that and have my doctor write a prescription? Is it rude to straight up ask for specific meds? I don't want my doctor to think I'm just trying to get pills because really I'm not.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

[nf1234]

Yes I doctor can prescribe anti-anxiety meds. First, which specific meds are you wanting? I wouldn't go in there and just ask for Xanax. Every doctor has there own opinion on drugs especially benzos. If they think your in there looking for pills you probably won't get them. If its a non narcotic then sure they will give it to you. They would most likely prescribe you an SSRI or a benzo or both. A psychiatrist is the way to go because they actually have in depth knowledge and experience about anxiety and the tons of different drugs used to treat it. A regular doc is just going to have basic drugs and may not prescribe you the best thing.

So if you are struggling and cant wait until your psychiatrist appt then see a therapist and a doctor. But you need to follow up with a psychiatrist if you really want to do it right and get better. I don't know what kind of drugs your hoping for but just a warning benzos are HIGHLY addictive. These include Klonapin, Ativan, Xanax, Valium, ect. Yes you can take them properly and not get addicted but if you get an idiot doc whose like here take one every single day and see my in three months, bad idea.

I personally prefer all natural methods which are a more permanent fix to the solution.